Blog

Coldwell Banker recently released their latest survey on what men and women want in real estate. Interesting enough, the results are not what you may think. Here are highlights of the findings: Both men and women place greater emphasis on their feelings about a home more than on layout, square footage, or price. And more than 60% also know within their first visit to the home is right for them. To read the complete report, please go to: [Men/Women Survey]

The BC government announced, on Feb 21, 2012, a one time cash bonus that can be received by 1st time Buyers on new home purchases (with qualification criteria to a maximum of $10,000). While this bonus is still subject to be legislated, this is a huge benefit to those getting into our expensive marketplace. With some banks offering 5 year closed mortgages at 2.99%, the Property Transfer Tax Exemption for qualified first time Buyers in place, and some developers absorbing the net HST, this is a huge windfall to jump into home ownership. With the details yet to be released, there is mention of a time deadline for eligible purchases that must complete by March 31, 2013. For example, on a new apartment priced at $300,000, the savings could be as much as $35,000 (7% HST absorbed by developer; PTT exemption; $10,000 bonus). If you are still renting, you might want to talk to your mortgage broker and real estate agent to see how you can benefit. Time is ticking…

Coldwell Banker released their 2012 TV ads at the Generation Blue convention in New Orleans last week. The ads focus on the "emotion and lifestyle" of homeownership and not the usual ads promoting reasons to hire a Real Estate agents that you find in most realty company TV ads. In addition the voice in the ads is that of Tom Seleck, the famous actor from the current TV series Blue Bloods and well he is known from the movies and of course his break through role as Magnum PI. Mr. Seleck has a real connection with Coldwell Banker as his father, brother and sister all worked for Coldwell Banker and his father was a VP for 33 years. The following article was recently published by the NY Times reporter Stuart Elliott, who comments on the refreshing message the ad creates for the slow to recover American housing market, and celebrates "the Value of a Home".

What would you do if you were a leading real estate broker during this sluggish, problematic market for American home sales? One such firm plans to accentuate the positive by playing up the emotional reasons for owning a home, now that the rational reasons like making a killing no longer seem relevant.

The firm is Coldwell Banker Real Estate, which in a campaign that is scheduled to begin on Monday will celebrate what it calls the “Value of a home.” The start of the campaign, with a budget estimated at $15 million, is timed with the approach of spring and the start of the home-buying season.

In this instance, each value cited in the campaign is a warm and fuzzy one, ranging from “the warmth of a winter fire” to “a grandmother kissing her grandchild.”

The values are brought to life in a television commercialthat cranks the emotional dial to 11, or maybe 12. The vignettes, photographed with a gauzy, well-lit look, celebrate “about 50,000 memories and a hundred thousand smiles,” which are generated, according to the campaign, by living in a home of one’s own.

Another way the emotional approach is intensified is through the use of the actor Tom Selleck to supply the voice-over narration in the commercial. It is no coincidence that Mr. Selleck is currently playing the paterfamilias of a clan of New York City police officers in the CBS series “Blue Bloods.”

“How to put a value on a home,” Mr. Selleck begins, then cites intangibles that include “the smell of pancakes made on a Sunday morning,” “the taste of a good cabernet with family at Thanksgiving” and “the power of a bedtime story.”

He also urges those listening to his voice to “subtract the stress of work” as well as “the struggles of the outside world” when considering “the value of a home.”

“Coldwell Banker,” Mr. Selleck concludes. “Where home begins.”

The campaign is created by Siltanen & Partners in El Segundo, Calif., which was selected as the Coldwell Banker creative agency in August. Siltanen & Partners replaced McKinney in Durham, N.C., whose last campaign dramatized the pitfalls of selling a home without using a Coldwell Banker agent.

“But everything out there,” he added, in terms of advertising, “is about a rational decision.”

“There needed to be a better voice, a more positive voice,” Mr. Fischer said, that brought up “all the things that make a house a home” like “a large backyard, the outdoor fire pit” and being able to have pets.

The upbeat message is aimed not only at potential home buyers, he added, but also at Coldwell Banker agents, to remind them of what he termed “that emotional higher kind of calling of their business.”

The campaign is not a Pollyanna-like paean to buying a home at all costs, Mr. Fischer said.

“We’re not running away from” being realistic about the state of the housing market, he added, and the firm says “don’t buy a house” to those without sufficient income or plans to stay in a home for a long time.

There also turned out to be, appropriately enough, a warm and fuzzy connection between the actor and Coldwell Banker.

Mr. Selleck’s father, Robert, “was a vice president for 38 years at Coldwell Banker” in Los Angeles, Mr. Fischer said.

And Mr. Selleck’s involvement in “Blue Bloods” resonates apart from the part he plays, Mr. Fischer said, because agents of Coldwell Banker, which has blue as its corporate color, “will say, ‘If you cut me, I bleed blue.’ ”

It's very important to keep current with changing technology. Social media and Gen x,y has a profound effect on how business is conducted and how we communicate. We at Coldwell Banker Westburn are taking this head on with our real estate. 15 of our agents are here in New Orleans with over 3000 agents from the US and Canada. This is how we value education to help serve our clients better.

I just learned that if you are taking a connecting flight(s) to a destination, ensure that you are doing so with the same airlines and have ample time between flights with the necessary boarding passes.

There is no direct route from Vancouver, BC to New Orleans, Louisiana so I flew to Los Angeles via Air Canada to connect to United Airlines at LAX. There was about 70 minutes to spare and I was not issued my connecting board pass in Vancouver. As luck would have it, the 1st leg was delayed by 35 minutes and, of course, the United Airlines gate was on the other side of the airport at Los Angeles. LAX is a large airport.

And then there was the security check all over again with the full body scanner.

You guessed it. I missed the flight. United Airlines re-booked for me but now I had to fly to Chicago and connect to New Orleans. Instead of catching the opening ceremonies and dinner extravaganza, I ended arriving just in time at midnight for bed at the hotel. Oh, and I got up at 4:30am to leave for the airport to catch the first flight. I did get to my final destination safely, just a bit late and tired but all ready for the Coldwell Banker conference!

Coldwell Banker

The Coldwell Banker brand has been in existence since 1908 and Westburn Realty has been a local force since 1985. Combined with the Ownership and management team who have, on average, 28 years experience in licensed brokerage, it's safe to say we been around for a bit. You can have confidence that we can get the job done to your satisfaction.